Tribble
Tribbles (Tribleustes ventricosus, Linnaean classification Polygeminus grex, ''yIH '' in Klingonese) are small, furry animals native to planet Iota Geminorum IV. ( ) They are notable for being voracious eaters, as well as for their rapid rate of procreation. Observed to "neither toil or spin," they are known for their affectionate nature and the calming nature of their purring. These characteristics, however, are replaced with animosity when in the presence of Klingons. ( ) This is presumably because the tribble has a keen sense of smell and can distinguish between individuals by scent, leading to the surmise that it also finds food by scent. ( ) Their only known predators are the Glommers, a product of Klingon bio-engineering. ( ) Polygeminus grex has the approximate meaning "that which is many twins, traveling in a herd." History 21st century A tribble population was nearly accidentally unleashed on the 21st century Earth by Voula, a time-traveling 27th century Starfleet officer, whose timeship had a tribble infestation aboard. Voula wanted to destroy the creatures with her phaser, but Commander Sean Christopher stopped her, and, with the help of cadets at the newly-formed Starfleet Academy, safely gathered them into a storage container. (ST performance: Star Trek Live) 22nd century The [[Enterprise (NX-01)|USS Enterprise (NX-01)]]'s CMO, Dr. Phlox kept a small supply of tribbles on board the ship as source of food for his numerous pets. ( ) 23rd century In the Kelvin timeline, a pet tribble was kept in a cage on the Starfleet base at by either Montgomery Scott or , as of 2258. The next year, Scott's transwarp beaming of the tribble to his nephew on Earth resulted in an infestation in San Francisco. ( ; ) In the prime reality, a tribble infestation consumed all the quadro-triticale aboard Deep Space Station K-7, while the was present at the station, accidentally exposing its infection with a virus that became an inert material in the bloodstream of an organism who consumed any foodstuffs so infected and could cause death by starvation within three days. The tribble infestation spread to the Enterprise, but Montgomery Scott beamed the creatures over to the Klingon ship . ( ) The Klingons tried many methods to rid themselves of the tribbles, none fully successful. Hundreds were packed into life pods and ejected from the ship. One such pod went through a micro-wormhole and ended up in the Delta Quadrant, where it was discovered by a Borg cube, which assimilated the surviving tribbles. ( ) During mid-2268, the Klingon Defense Force, under the IKS Gr'oth s Captain Koloth, led an eight-month-long campaign against the tribble homeworld, supposedly wiping the creatures out for good. ( ; ; ) Tribbles and false tribbles lived on the planet Aleph III in the Organian Treaty Area near Klingon Space. Both species were being studied by the researchers at Genetics Research Station 17 before the stations closure in 2269. ( ) :It is not known how the tribbles native to Aleph III found there way there from Iota Geminorum IV or developed the second false tribble variant. The Enterprise encountered Cyrano Jones, the man who had initially sold them the tribbles, aboard K-7, while escorting some grain to Sherman's Planet. Jones had a stock of genetically-engineered "safe" tribbles. However, these tribbles grew to immense sizes as they consumed food. When hit with phaser blasts, the giant tribbles could break into thousands of normal-sized tribbles. With minor treatment, they could be indeed made "safe" tribbles. ( ) James T. Kirk encountered these animals again, in suspended animation. Other lifeforms were in cryostasis from across the galaxy, on Raga's Planet. Kirk could not discern if the tribbles, gromenghastlies, and creatures he had never before seen were either real, or sequences of telepathy from Singha. ( ) On reference stardate 2/1412, a seedy Orion man in the Shadow Market of Daros IV had tribbles he claimed were genetically altered to not reproduce. He asked for 100 credits, but could be haggled down to 25. As guaranteed, the tribble was sterile, but died within 24 hours. It was in fact a stuffed fake, equipped with a cheap battery-powered device that made it purr on touch. ( ) In 2271, the was boarded by renegade Klingons, who found the cargo of tribbles, and then abandoned or killed the crew. The ship, along with a million tribbles, was then found in 2279. ( ) 24th century and Jadzia Dax search for a tribble with a bomb in it, aboard Deep Space Station K-7]] Alexandra, daughter of Enterprise-D Crewman Toya, owned a very quiet and still one. Possibly a plush toy, it comically stuck to the back of the captain's uniform. Jean-Luc Picard was none the wiser. ( ) In 2371 Galactic Pets Unlimited sold sterile tribbles as well as other exotic pets on the Deep Space 9 Promenade. ( ) A population of tribbles was introduced to Deep Space 9 after the returned from an accidental time-traveling trip back to the 23rd century, in which they visited Deep Space Station K-7, as well as the of the time. When the Defiant returned to the present, some tribbles had apparently stowed away, and were then introduced to Deep Space 9. The DS9 crew had difficulty removing the tribbles, with Jadzia Dax casually suggesting it would be easier to build another station. ( ) During the cleanup effort on DS9, the senior staff sat around a table at Quark's and discussed their various theories and supposed experiences regarding the origin of tribbles, how the Klingons got their head ridges, and why the Klingons and tribbles hate each other so much. Their speculations included the tribbles being the cause of the ridged-forehead Klingons, among others. ( ) Vin Asunder had a pet tribble named , which he took with him on all away team missions, believing it would bring him good luck and prevent him becoming a "redshirt". ( ) 25th century By 2409, some tribbles had been assimilated into the Borg Collective. However, these tiny drones weren't a threat to members of Starfleet. Therefore, many Starfleet officers continued to use assimilated tribbles as pets. As they were linked into the Borg Collective, they could provide their owners with insight into the actions of the Borg. :The assimilated tribbles, called Tribble of Borg, can be purchased in the game's C-store. Exposure to a wide variety of environments and diets meant that, by the 25th century, more than two dozen sub-species of tribble were known to exist, including some that demonstrated no fear of Klingons in their vicinity. ( ) In 2409, the Federation was attempting to recreate the original tribble homeworld's ecosystem on one of the moons of Minas Korva. ( ) Named tribbles * Gladys * Spike Breeds * False Tribble * Grand Slam Tribble * Tribble of Borg Related Stories Canon *"The Trouble with Tribbles" (TOS episode) *"Trials and Tribble-ations" (''DS9'' episode) *''Star Trek III: The Search for Spock'' (TOS film) *''Star Trek (2009)'' Non-Canon * "A Bad Day for Koloth" (TOS short story) * *"More Tribbles, More Troubles" (TAS episode) *"The Last Tribble" (TOS short story) *"Missed" (TOS short story) *"Tribble in Paradise" (''TNG'' short story) *"The Trouble with Borg Tribbles" (TOS short story) *"The Trouble with Tribals" (TOS short story) *"The Great Tribble Hunt" ((TOS comic book story) *"Second Chances" (short story in New Worlds, New Civilizations) * *"Nobody Knows the Tribbles I've Seen" (DS9 comic) *"The Tribbles' Pagh" (DS9 short story) *"That Which Must Die" (Starfleet Command Klingon Black Fleet mission #6) *"Star Trek Online" *"Star Trek Live" (Live performance set in the present day) *"The Truth About Tribbles, Part 1'' (TOS comic)'' External link * * Category:Animals